SeaWorld makes a splash on the NYSE

Updated 8:11 pm, Friday, April 19, 2013

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SeaWorld Entertainment Inc.'s penguins were a hit on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange for the company's initial public offering. The stock is trading under the “SEAS” ticker symbol. SeaWorld gained 24 percent to close at $33.52 per share Friday, up from its initial public offering priced at $27 per share. less

SeaWorld Entertainment Inc.'s penguins were a hit on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange for the company's initial public offering. The stock is trading under the “SEAS” ticker symbol. SeaWorld gained ... more

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A board on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Thursday, March 28, 2013 shows the closing number for the S&P 500 index.. The Standard & Poor's 500 index closed at a record high Thursday, beating the mark it set in October 2007. The S&P rose six points to 1,569, a gain of 0.4 percent, beating its previous record by four points. The index is still shy of its all-time trading high of 1,576. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) less

A board on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Thursday, March 28, 2013 shows the closing number for the S&P 500 index.. The Standard & Poor's 500 index closed at a record high Thursday, beating the mark ... more

Photo: Richard Drew, Associated Press

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SeaWorld Entertainment CEO Jim Atchison, third from right, with glasses, joined by SeaWorld Entertainment’s leadership team and team members, rings the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange, during the company's IPO, Friday, April 19, 2013, in New York. The broad Standard & Poor's 500 index opened higher early Friday. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

SeaWorld Entertainment CEO Jim Atchison, third from right, with glasses, joined by SeaWorld Entertainment’s leadership team and team members, rings the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange, during the

SeaWorld Entertainment Inc.'s stock surged Friday, its first day as a public company.

Maybe the penguins waddling across the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in the morning helped.

After handlers guided the penguins — as well as an otter and a lemur — through the trading floor, SeaWorld gained 24 percent to close at $33.52 per share, up from its initial public offering priced at $27 per share. That was at the high end of the expected range of $24 to $27 per share, helping the company and its backers raise $702 million.

SeaWorld, which operates a park on San Antonio's far West Side, issued 26 million shares.

The IPO's size also increased from the 20 million shares SeaWorld and its owner, private equity firm Blackstone Group LP, had hoped to sell. Combined with the price of the offering, the boost to its size suggests there was solid demand for the shares.

According to its prospectus, the Orlando, Fla.-based operator of 10 theme parks plans to repay some of its debt and pay a one-time fee to Blackstone, which purchased SeaWorld from Anheuser-Busch InBev for $2.3 billion four years ago.

“Customers won't notice much of a change. It's more of an organizational transition,” he said. “It's tougher on management because now they'll have to take a much shorter view of things,” considering shareholders' emphasis on quarterly results.

“They're going to want to see good performance,” Bojanic added. “Before, (SeaWorld) could have a three- or four-year plan, but that was when nobody was looking at them with a microscope.”

If the tourism industry suffers — as it did during the Great Recession — pressure from the company's new shareholders could trickle down to individual parks, Bojanic said. SeaWorld San Antonio could feel a squeeze if shareholders demand cost-cutting measures such as layoffs or changes to employee benefit packages.

The San Antonio park last year helped send its parent company's profits soaring more than 300 percent over earnings in 2011, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SeaWorld reported net income of $77.4 million in 2012, up from $19.1 million the year before, and total revenue rose 7 percent to more than $1.4 billion over the same period.

The SEC filings highlighted the addition of the Aquatica water park at SeaWorld San Antonio last May for contributing to an increase in attendance and admission revenue per guest.

The animal rights group did not disclose how much of a stake it purchased in the company, but said it was enough to give representatives the right to attend and speak at annual meetings. PETA also will have the opportunity to submit shareholder resolutions, according to a news release.

“PETA's goal is to stop SeaWorld from imposing a life of misery, confinement and cruelty on orcas and dolphins,” Jeffrey Kerr, the group's general counsel, said in a statement.

PETA has filed several complaints recently with the U.S. Agriculture Department, asking the agency to investigate possible violations of the Animal Welfare Act at SeaWorld parks, including the San Antonio location.

SeaWorld's stock is trading under the “SEAS” ticker symbol. Its offering is expected to close next Wednesday.